When installing electrical wire in a home or office building, a fish tape is generally used. A fish tape is an elongated wire member made of tempered spring steel, stainless steel, multi-stranded steel wire, nylon, or the like. The elongated wire member of the fish tape is rigid enough to be pushed through a conduit yet flexible enough to bend around corners or curves in the conduit. After the tape has been “fished” or threaded through a conduit, a wire or cable is attached to the end of the fish tape and the tape is pulled back through the conduit, drawing the wire with it to install the wire in the conduit.
In general, when installing electrical wiring, the fish tape is fed through the conduit starting at or adjacent to a main electrical panel. The fish tape extends through the conduit until it reaches the end of the pathway. In general, an electrical box/junction box is found at the end of the pathway. The fish tape is then tied around or connected to the leading end of one or more electrical wires. The fish tape is then pulled back in the reversed direction, out of the conduit, simultaneously dragging the wire(s) through the conduit.
A problem exists in that in many wire installations in new or existing buildings, the conduit pathway may be fairly long. Many times the electrician will not know where the pathway ends and where the electrical box/junction box housing the leading end of the fish tape is located. Furthermore, the electrical box/junction box may be hidden in the wall thus making it difficult for the electrician to find the electrical box/junction box where the end of the fish tape is located without cutting numerous holes in the wall.
Therefore, a need existed to provide a device to overcome the above problem. The device would allow a person to easily locate the end of the fish tape when the fish tape reaches the end of a pathway.